Go / Weiqi / Baduk useful links

A thought in mind to post a wonderful game called GO which is being shared among all today. Yeh time to post some of my favorite sites/blogs/software commonly used by myself.

On line Go Server

KGS Go Server
One of the famous Go server on line. You can watch many people online in different rooms playing Go all the time. You have lot of Tournaments and lessons online. Just login and enjoy. To play in KGS a new version of Java needs to be installed. Click here to find you have a current Java or not.

IGS Go Server
Short form of Internet Go Server. This is also a nice on line server like KGS.

Go Center of Second Life
This is not a Go Server but a Virtual gathering place in Second Life. Fabulous place to play Go game. Its an island of Japan and China Themed sim.

Online Correspondent Go
If you are a office goer or you don’t have time to spend for a complete game to finish,you can choose the following online Correspondent games.

Dragon Go Server
This is one of the famous Correspondent Go server.

Online Go Server
Yet another famous correspondent Go server on net.

DashBaduk

Websites / Tutorials

Go Base
One of the best news update, resource center for Go game. You have lot of info about Go and Tournaments around the world.

The Interactive Way To Go
If anyone of you are new to Go game or heard about it you need a fast track to know some basics. Check the site to understand and hands on learning of Go.

Fun Way To Learn Go
This site provides a fun way to learn Go.

Sensei’s Library
Online Go Bible!. Its a famous online Go Game Wiki. You will find everything about Go game World.

GoProblems
If you are familiar about the game and interested to tackle Go game problem check this website. Online Go game problem makes easy to learn.

Go Training Ladder
Yes this is a Training Ladder for Go players. You have option to review others game and teach them or you can post your games and get some comments on your game.

Fuseki Info
Fuseki means the Go Opening. The first thing you are gong to do before attacking your opponent.
Good collection of many types of Go Fuseki.

GoDiscussions.com
You like to discuss about Go game with world !? Log in to GoDiscussion. One of my favorite Go Forum.

Go4Go

Go Game Utility

Go Drago
One of Go Freeware to create, edit and play Go on your desktop.

GNU GO
A free Go Engine to play with.

Go Shopping

Board Game Go

eBay Go

Go Game Store

Kiseido Store

Kuroki Goishi

Samarkand

Yellow Mountain Imports

Yutopian

Go Game Blogs

ChiyoDad Learns Go
My first go friend on net.! I have learnt many things from him. A nice guy in Go world. I love to read his blog.

Enriching My Love of the Game
One of my famous Go Blog on net. I am lazy to post comments but her RSS but any one interested can go through my RSS Reader. I love to read her blog.

Because It’s There!

The Ladder to Shodan

A River of Stones

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I know today is not valentines day.. but this is one of the best imagination/problem/fun what ever you call….

Before you click on the applet (‘Click here to find out what happens’) below, take some time and watch on the board below how to resolve the query

Black plays G4

Can Black Capture!?

…
…
…

Did you get the answer ? No…..? Its simple if you know the rules or at least you rank around 25k.

Ok! Never mind…. ‘Click here to find out what happens’!

Have Fun!

If you dont know to play GO/Weiqi… here a nice Tutorial!

Click To Play

See also…
More GO/Weiqi Articles
Planet GO
Sensei’s Library

While the Baroque rules of chess could only have been created by humans, the rules of go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play go.
– Edward Lasker

“the tactic of the soldier, the exactness of the mathematician, the imagination of the artist, the inspiration of the poet, the calm of the philosopher, and the greatest intelligence.”
- Zhang Yunqi,

The board is a mirror of the mind of the players as the moments pass. When a master studies the record of a game he can tell at what point greed overtook the pupil, when he became tired, when he fell into stupidity, and when the maid came by with tea.
– Anonymous

[War is] like a game of weiqi . . . Strongholds built by the enemy and bases by us resemble moves to dominate spaces on the board.
– Mao Zedong

Those interested in impressing others with their intelligence play chess. Those who would settle for being chic play backgammon. Those who wish to become individuals of quality take up Go.
- Microcomputer Executive and an expert player, when asked to compare Go with other games

Chess has only two outcomes: draw and checkmate. The objective of the game . . . is total victory or defeat – and the battle is conducted head-on, in the center of the board. The aim of go is relative advantage; the game is played all over the board, and the objective is to increase one’s options and reduce those of the adversary. The goal is less victory than persistent strategic progress.
– Dr. Henry Kissinger

Chess is a Battle, Weiqi/Go is a war. – Anonymous

The difference between a stone played on one intersection rather than on an adjacent neighbor is insignificant to the uninitiated. The master of Go, though, sees it as all the difference between a flower and a cinder block.
- From The Challenge of Go: Esoteric Granddaddy of Board Games, by Dave Lowry

In chess you start with everything you have on the board. In go you start from nothing and build.
– Tim Klinger

Go uses the most elemental materials and concepts — line and circle, wood and stone, black and white — combining them with simple rules to generate subtle strategies and complex tactics that stagger the imagination.
- Iwamoto Kaoru, 9-dan professional Go player and former Honinbo title holder

* Your opponent’s good move is your good move
* The opponent’s vital point is my vital point
* Play on the point of symmetry
* Play double sente early
* Sente gains nothing
* Beware of going back to patch up
* Don’t follow proverbs blindly
* When in doubt, Tenuki
* Don’t go fishing while your house is on fire

* There is death in the hane
* Hane, Cut, Placement
* Learn the eyestealing tesuji
* Six die but eight live (on the second line)
* Four die but six live (on the third line or in the corner on the second line)
* Four is five and five is eight and six is twelve
* The carpenters square becomes ko
* The L group is dead
* The door group is dead
* Strange things happen at the one two point
* Eyes win semeais
* Check escape routes first
* Capture three to get an eye

* Respond to attachment with hane
* Wedge if possible
* Hane at the Head of Two Stones
* Crosscut then extend
* Capture the cutting stones
* Beginners play atari
* The empty triangle is bad
* The one-point jump (ikken tobi) is never bad
* Don’t try to cut the one-point jump
* Strike at the waist of the keima
* Cutting right through a knight’s move is very big
* Do not peep at cutting points
* Two stones are five times harder to kill than one[3]
* Even a moron connects against a peep
* If you have one stone on the third line in atari, add a second stone and sacrifice both
* Use contact moves for defence
* Never ignore a shoulder hit
* The bamboo joint may be short of liberties
* Nets are better than ladders
* Answer the capping play with a knight’s move
* Approach from the wider side
* Block on the wider side
* Play at the centre of three stones
* Answer keima with kosumi
* Five liberties for tactical stability
* Capture stones caught in a ladder at the earliest opportunity
* Two hanes gain a liberty
* The strong player plays straight, the weak plays diagonal
* There is no connection in the carpenter’s triangle
* Jump out once and then make eye?

* You need half the points + 1
* Five Liberties for Tactical Stability
* When in doubt, tenuki
* Never make hollow ko threats
* Trying to achieve light and airy gamestyle ends up blown away?
* If you have 30 minutes, use them?

Few minutes back I played a game in KGS with a quiet tough player.

I played quite well in this game, but in the end my opponent passed his move to me. Due to over sight in the game I too accepted the pass and thus the game was won by my opponent by W+24.5.

If I had concentrated on the end game, I would have won this game by B+25.5

The below game is the one which am talking about. I have added my wining moves with in it.

WeiQi/Go is a new game to India. Many people are not aware or even heard about WeiQi. But. I was curious to find at least ONE Indian who plays this game.

Eureka! I found out a guy! who represents India abroad in some WeiQi tournaments. His name is Supravat Pal. I don’t have much information about him. Still, little is known. According to my knowledge his recent participation was in World Amateur Go Championship in Sasebo on May 2006.

Supravat Pal
Nation: India
Date of Birth: 1978
Job: Service, Kolkata?.
Rating: 1 kyu
Tournament:
3rd Toyota Denso Asian Qualifying Cup,
The 27th JAL cup World Amateur Go Championship

Following are some of his games.

Click on the button below “Supravat Pal’s Games” , use your right – left arrow button to navigate between moves.

Country like India, which posses a great heritage in various fields especially in sports and games, must try to encourage people like Supravat, who has started playing game like WeiQi which is a rare game. I am afraid that players like him are not properly cared or encouraged to fulfill their ambition in such kind of new games.

The games and photo are taken by searching the net. Sorry if I posted without permission.

Thanks to all of you for your valuable mails. I got positive replies for my previous article on GO!

Unfortunately I can’t write all about this game in one post. I planned to post this as a series.

People use to ask what’s so specialty of Go then compared to Chess.
Following is a small info from http://www.nihonkiin.or.jp

Medical evidence

It’s usually said that the left side of the human brain handles the functions of calculation, memorization, and logical thought. The right side of the brain is intuitive and perceives shapes and spatial relationships; it also handles judgement from a large-scale perspective.

It’s important to make good use of both sides of the brain, but it seems that there are many predominantly left-brain people.

Go is a game that makes particular use of the right side of the brain. It has already been established medically that Go stimulates the right side of the brain, enhances judgement, and is effective in relieving stress.

Go is also beneficial in preventing senility and strokes and helps in rehabilitation after a stroke.

An hour back, I played a game on KGS Server. I planned to put this game as an example for how this game is played. There are some mistakes which i have made in this game. some are…
Running for nothing!
Missing a good Ladder pattern
Missing capture!
Missing stones! etc

Below is the game I played an hour back. I played with black stones. The game ended with black win. In Go terms, it’s written as.

Board Size: 19×19
White Rating: 21k
Black Rating: 23k (Result increased to 22k)
Handicap: 2
Komi: 0.5
Rule Set: Chinese
Result (Score Estimate): B+92.5

Video coming soon!

Games have been the part of day to day life. It can been viewed in many angles, some people its a time pass activity and some its a profession or to some its a tool to improve concentration, judgment etc. I was longing to learn any new mind game.. For a common Indian if you say a mind game, its only Chess. But i expected something new. My focus turned to Chinese games. Go impressed me more on its rules and the skill needed to play.
Let me introduce you to this wonderful game.

Go is also called Weiqi in Chinese, Igo in Japanese (Kanji), and Baduk in Korean (Hangul). Go originated in ancient China before 2000 BC. Some historians expect, this game has been originated at the time of Chinese emperor Yao (2337 – 2258 BC), who invented this game for his son Danzhu to teach him discipline, concentration, and balance.

Go is played by alternately placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of a 19×19 rectilinear grid. A stone is captured and removed if stones of the opposing color tightly surround it. The objective is to control a larger territory than the opponent by placing one’s stones so they cannot be captured. The game ends and the score is counted when both players consecutively pass on a turn, indicating that neither side can increase its territory or reduce its opponent’s; the game can also end by resignation.

Go had reached Japan from China by the 7th century, and gained popularity at the imperial court in the 8th century. By the beginning of the 13th century, Go was played among the general public in Japan.

Go game rules are very simple; the practical strategy is extremely complex.

The game emphasizes the importance of balance on multiple levels, and has internal tensions. To secure an area of the board, it is good to play moves close together; but to cover the largest area one needs to spread out, perhaps leaving weaknesses that can be exploited. Playing too low (close to the edge) secures insufficient territory and influence; yet playing too high (far from the edge) allows the opponent to invade. Many people find Go attractive for its reflection of the conflicting demands of real life.

It has been claimed that Go is the most complex game in the world, on various measures, such as the spread of identifiable levels of skill Its large board and lack of restrictions allows great scope in strategy and expression of players’ individuality. Decisions in one part of the board may be influenced by an apparently unrelated situation in a distant part of the board. Plays made early in the game can shape the nature of conflict a hundred moves later. It is commonly said that no Go game has ever been played twice. Calculations suggest this may be true: on a 19×19 board, there are about 3³⁶¹Ã—0.012 = 2.1×10¹⁷⁰ possible positions, most of which are the end result of about (120!)² = 4.5×10³⁹⁷ different (no-capture) games, for a total of about 9.3×10⁵⁶⁷ games. Allowing captures gives as many as

possible games, all of which last for over 4.1×10⁴⁸ moves.
In comparison, the number of legal positions in chess is estimated to be between 10⁴³ and 10⁵⁰.

• Two players, Black and White, take turns placing a stone (game piece) on a vacant point (intersection) of a 19 by 19 board (grid). Black moves first. Other board sizes such as 13×13 and 9×9 may be used for teaching or quick games, but 19×19 is the standard size. Once played, a stone may not be moved to a different point.
• A vacant point adjacent to a stone is a liberty for that stone.
• Adjacent stones of the same color form a unit that shares its liberties in common, cannot subsequently be subdivided, and in effect becomes a single larger stone.
• Units may be expanded by playing additional stones of the same color on their liberties, or amalgamated by playing a stone on a mutual liberty of two or more units of the same color.
• A unit must have at least one liberty to remain on the board. When a unit is surrounded by opposing stones so that it has no liberties, it is captured and removed from the board.
• If a stone is played where it has no liberties, but it occupies the last liberty of one or more opposing units, then such units are captured first, leaving the newly played stone at least one liberty.
• “Ko rule”: A stone cannot be played on a particular point if doing so would recreate the board position that existed after the same player’s previous turn.
• A player may passinstead of placing a stone, indicating that he sees no way to increase his territory or reduce his opponent’s territory. When both players pass consecutively, the game ends and is then scored.

A player’s score is the number of empty points enclosed only by his stones plus the number of points occupied by his stones. The player with the higher score wins. (Note that there are other rulesets that count the score differently, yet almost always produce the same result.) For a more detailed treatment.
This is the essence of the game of Go. The risk of capture means that stones must work together to control territory, which makes the game play very complex and interesting.

Go allows one to play not only even games (games between players of roughly equal strength) but also handicap games (games between players of unequal strength); see optional rules. Without a handicap, even a slight difference in strength will generally be decisive.Game 5 of the 2002 LG Cup final between Choe Myeong-hun (white) and Lee Sedol (black) at the end of the opening stage; white has developed a great deal of potential territory, while black has emphasized central influence.

In Go, ranks are employed to indicate playing strength. Strictly speaking, we should only say rank, but not rating or level or grade. The rank system is tabulated from the lowest to highest ranks:

Rank Type	Range	Stage
double-digit kyu (gup in Korean)	30-10k	Introductory
single-digit kyu	9-1k	Elementary to Intermediate
amateur dan	1-7d (where 8d is special title)	Advanced
professional dan	1-9p (where 10p is special title)	Expert

Raj use to play on KGS server. He is a beginner but he plays quiet good. Following is his Rating Graph from KGS.

For better view Click Here